From: Eric Kersey <eric.kersey(at)ntlworld.com>
Sent: Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Linn,
l'm the late Bill Jennings old mate and l was there when you rang Bill re Brad, who wanted to contact him.
Here is photo taken on woodbridge base around the late 50s it is the digging gang who put in all the duct and cables for the base. There are a few Americans in the photo and the only one's name l can remember is the officer kneeling in the middle in front and l think he's Lieutenant Larson. The young man kneeling on the left looking at the photo is me.
best regards
Eric
From: Britlady [mailto:coppertop8690(at)verizon.net]
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Linn:
I sent your email of the base housing on to my daughter Lisa. She and my son John said the tour in England was the best years of their lives. They absolutely loved it and it gave me a chance to go home to Manningtree and see my friends and family.
We all loved that last tour over there as my husband Damien was going to retire after that and go to Law School which he did; and was still working as an LA City Attorney Prosecutor when he died in 1999. He always said he had the best of both worlds but the flying, the locale, the people... don't know what it was but it was the experience of a lifetime and I'm still in touch with some of my old friends.
Talking to Tom Cairns again has been a hoot. We get on the phone and just about go through every little bit of trivia from those years and what a laugh we had. Sorry to say that so many have passed away now. Andrew Patton went back to Australia and died waiting for a new heart; Big John Weichert died about 6 yrs ago. So that was the last of the 3 bachelors from Christchurch Cottage in Ipswich to pass away... Boy if only that place could talk!
The 79th troops I think have kept in fairly close contact so we've been able to keep up with a lot of them. Marty Bailey lives in Florida since Fred passed. I'm still hoping that someone will know where Pat Hicks is now. I don't know what her maiden name was and she did remarry another American from Bentwaters when she went back there. She was good friends with one of the telephone operators named Cynthia (last name Foster?). Pat was a Sophia Loren look-alike... just gorgeous with green eyes and the lovely personality to go with the looks. I'm surprised no one knows where she is now unless she is back in the States again.
Like Tom... I love to know where Dusty Miller went? In 1975 when I was last there he had his own pub on the main road to the bases; just before you went round the corner and crossed the railway tracks. [that'll be the Wilford Bridge, or maybe the Station Inn - Linn B.]
Anyone remember Pearl and Yvonne Myhill? Their dad was PC Myhill in Ipswich and he would put the fear of God into anyone who came near his daughters. Pearl and I were hairdressers at Jarmans Hair Salon in the mid fifties. Pearl married Lyle (Mac) McPherson from the Air Police Sqd. Mac is a very successful developer now and he and Pearl spend their time between Florida and West Virginia.
I recognize so many of the names and look forward to hearing more. I saw a post from someone looking for a group of people he was stationed with. One of the "lost" friends was Wimpey Thayer. He was married to June Patterson and they too have passed on a long time ago.
I just talked to Tom's wife Vickie a few minutes ago and she said Tom is home in record time and doing very well.
I think I've rambled on enough. Feel free to include any of these meanderings down Memory Lane! [I've included them all! - Linn B.]
I was sorry to hear that Glady's had passed away . She was a sweet lady. Would love to know what Walter (Scoop) O'Toole is doing, as well as that tall Texan from Bentwaters, Bill Turner and if he still loves to ride Motor Cycles like the one he crashed at Maningtree on his way over to see me years ago!!
Thanks so much for all your efforts with this project.
You know we all appreciate it.
Best Wishes
Dawn Williams
Thursday 20th of August 2009
Christine Glenn (nee Godfrey) <granny_brit(at)yahoo.com>
My position: Cashier at Burstal Hotel and Airmen's Club
My years: 1966 - 1970
Now: Retired. living in Forney, Texas
Message:
I saw the picture of the Burstal Hotel on the 2009 Memories page and can indeed confirm that it is the Burstal. I worked there in the cashiers office from 1966 to September 1970 when it was closed.
It was demolished and is now the site of about half a dozen large homes. When I was home a few years ago my sisters and I were driving around the Sproughton area and decided to take a side trip to see if the hotel was still there.
The lodge house was and that's the only way I recognized where we were.
The view in the photo is of the back of the hotel leading into the garden.
From: ronburrell(at)comcast.net
Sent: Sunday, August 2, 2009
Subject: Re: Email from Christina Olds
Linn,
Thanks for that. I am teared up.
Will be going down to Colorado Springs tomorrow and will stop by the USAF Air Force Academy to visit his grave again and pay my respects. I will always treasure meeting the General at the Wings Over The Rockies Museum on the former Lowry AFB near my home.
It was in March 1999. I took a Air Force Commendation certificate and showed it to him. He said where did you get this? RAF Bentwaters 1961-1965 sir. I was just a young punk airman then. He laughed and signed the certificate for the second time some thirty six years after he signed it the first time. I was honored.
I said "General something is funny here." He said "What is that?" "Well sir, my Dad Sarge Burrell retired United Airlines Flight Instructor used to work for your Dad General Robert Olds at Langley Field Virginia in 1937."
"Really?" so I showed him a photo of my Dad who was a reciprocating aircraft engine mechanic. He worked on the B-18 Bolo bombers at Langley.
We had a nice visit. Then I told him about the time he scared the crap out me at Bentwaters in October 1962 during the Cuban Missile Crisis. He and Col Chappie James came into the maintenance shop. I was down on all fours assembling a transmission and gearbox on a weapons loader and saw four shiny shoes. When I looked up it was Col Olds and Col James. I stood at attention and they asked me if this equipment will be ready soon. I said "Yes, sir." Then they departed smartly.
Now how cool was this?
Wanted to add that Jim Grubbs, retired MSgt who owned and ran The Ship pub in Blaxhall Suffolk, used to arm the General's aircraft in Thailand. He is probably arming it today in Heaven.
Regards
Ron Burrell
Aurora Colorado
From: Eniss@aol.com [mailto:Eniss@aol.com]
Sent: Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Subject: Burstall Hotel?
Linn,
I was stationed there from 66 to 68 and enjoyed almost every minute. While there I got engaged to my NCOIC's daughter who was a result of a WWII marriage at West Auckland, Durham. I asked her to marry me after one of the dinner dances at the Burstall Hotel (pictured below).
The Air Force used the Burstall as temporary housing until a long term residence could be found.
We have been happily married since 1968 and often wondered what has happen to the Burstall since the base closed. I have tried to find it's past history and what happened to it on the Internet with no success.
We would appreciate any information you might have of the special time and place in our live.
I believe this is a picture of it that my father in-law took.
THANK YOU,
MIKE and EILEEN NISSLEY
Can anyone confirm that this is a photograph of the Burstall Hotel?
From: Jonathan Burchard [mailto:jonathansgolfshop@iinet.net.au]
Sent: Thursday, July 23, 2009
Subject: Memory of A-10 81-0950
I just wanted to share a quick memory... My jet. Here it is, 81-0950.
Click on the image above for a larger version.
The photograph is Copyright © 1988 phantomderpfalz - click here for more of his photos.
It was a good jet. Used at Gunsmoke in 1998. The DCCs on it while I was Assistant were Donald Cradock, Dean Shull (whose name you can see) and Grady Jeter.
My name can be seen on the nose wheel door if you look closely.
Unfortunately this was taken in the pre digital era so it only pixellates when you zoom in on it.
I searched high and low in cyberspace for a photo of this venerable old jet. It is now stationed at Davis Monthan AFB, and is painted a sort of Gray colour.
Take Care.
Jonathan Burchard
581st AGS, Oct 1986 to Jan 1990.
From: John Smith [john8515smith(at)yahoo.com]
Sent: Saturday, July 04, 2009 10:46 PM
Subject: Robin Olds dilemma
There is an article inside the magazine Flight Journal, August 2009 edition that maybe of interest. Inside the back cover is an editorial TAILVIEW by Barrett Tillman, A Warrior's Worth. It explains that Robin Olds did not seek or accept help with his income taxes. For this reason he died owing taxes and penalties.
"...also left a swirling vortex in his financial slipstream. For all his red-meat, can-do attitude Robin had continual problems with the Internal Revenue Service."
His daughter hopes to sell most of Robins memorabilia to a single entity that would keep the collection intact.
"The memorabilia collection consists of all his papers and items saved since West Point, including battle maps, commemorative mugs, plaques, awards, uniforms, flight suits, squadron patches, photographs, scrapbooks, autographed biographies, caps, monogrammed shirts, insignia, official (now declassified) Pentagon reports and interviews, diaries, letters, plus over two hundred military history and aviation books, most signed to robin by the author."
His daughter Chris spent most of 2008 rewriting his memoirs. the book should be out next year.
Maybe the 81st Fighter Wing association through "TAILWINDS", and others could find a buyer for the collection.
The book should make interesting reading.
John B. Smith
From: Mike Combs, Bentwaters Budget Officer, 1970-1975 - mcombs(at)pacific.net
Sent: Thursday, April 30, 2009 7:12 AM
Subject:The New Budget Officer, RAF Bentwaters, 1970
I arrived at RAF Bentwaters, Suffolk, UK, in early January, 1970, a 27-year old 2nd Lieutenant with wife, Marilynn, and three sons ages 6, 3, and 1. I had just completed an MBA at Michigan State, and the Budget Officer job at Bentwaters would be my first Air Force duty as an officer. Since I had spent my six enlisted years as a Russian linguist radio intercept analyst, clerk typist, and/or college student, I knew absolutely nothing about Air Force accounting or budgeting.
Apparently the Air Force wasn’t concerned, because no mention was ever made of sending me to any school to train me for my new job.
When I reported for duty as the Budget Officer, 81st Combat Support Group, 81st Tactical Fighter Wing, I found that my predecessor, Mr. Byce Pierce, had transferred from RAF Bentwaters to an accounting and finance job on RAF Lakenheath nine months before my arrival. During that long vacant period, the Budget Office had operated with only two people, TSgt Phillip Ashcraft and UK civilian clerk Art Sharman. Their happiness at my arrival was tempered with the immediate recognition that I didn’t know the slightest thing about the Air Force’s accounting and budgeting system.
Another thing that happened the week I arrived that tempered their joy was the simultaneous arrival of the “call” to begin preparation of the Fiscal Year 1971 Wing Operations Operating Budget and Family Housing Budget. The preparation of each of these hundreds of pages documents is a harrowing and challenging activity at the best of times. With a new untrained and inexperienced leader, and a just installed new tape and hard drive computer (Burroughs 3500) to replace the old punched card one, a Burroughs B-263, the budget preparation tasks looked impossibly difficult.
Looks weren’t deceiving.
For the next six weeks each of the three of us worked forty or more hours of overtime each week, but even though each of us worked the same long hours, this arduous workload was not evenly distributed.
At 27, I was the youngest, but my position as Budget Officer and my total lack of accounting knowledge gave me few duties I was either required or capable of performing. Fortunately, writing the budget narrative (borrowing heavily from the previous years’ budgets) and proofreading the typed printing masters were important jobs that I could do well without grasping the underlying details and concepts.
TSgt Ashcraft was the Noncommissioned Officer in Charge (NCOIC) of Budget, and was ten years older than me, and very calm and affable. He was able to get a lot of information from a wide variety of activities and individuals, and incorporate it into the Byzantine budget formats. I didn’t realize until much later that Air Force budgeting was in a period of transition and upheaval when I arrived. My ignorance of what preceded the new system led me to believe that I was entering an established one, when actually it was in complete disarray and groping its way in the dark from being a tightly centrally managed one to responsibilities being distributed throughout all levels of Air Force management. TSgt Ashcraft was struggling to make the transition, and for the most part I was unaware of it.
Arthur Sharman, the UK civilian budget clerk, was twenty years older than me, and I owe him a lot for my eventually successful career in budgeting. Art handled the most precisely demanding elements of our budget, the pay of civilian employees and the contracts and services provided through the British Ministry of Defense and Department of Environment (DOE), which performed the functions performed at stateside bases by Air Force Civil Engineering. He also ably liaised with the financial officer of the DOE, Mrs. Iris Fletcher, a very able and slightly built but imposing woman in her fifties who Art nicknamed the Dragon Lady. Between the two of them they wielded a surprising amount of power over most of the physical plant of the two air bases which were operated by the 81st Tactical Fighter Wing, Royal Air Force Bases Bentwaters and Woodbridge.
The problem we all faced was that the newly responsible financial managers had no training or experience in their duties under the new program. Being an overseas base compounded the problems, because both military and civilian managers and personnel were normally rotated back to a stateside base after three years, and there were very few with any knowledge or experience in financial management.
I thought I was stepping into an existing system and that I had to find out what everyone was doing so I could learn and get up to speed, and they thought I was there to lead them.
It could have been a classic example of the blind leading the blind, except I didn’t know they were blind and waiting for me to show them the way.
Somehow we got the budgets finished on time, although Phil Ashcraft was visibly exhausted, and Art Sharman suffered a minor stroke and was off work for about six weeks to recover. Although the budgets were in, we continued working many hours of overtime each week, even after Arthur came back to work.
Not long after Arthur came back, Phil Ashcraft finished his tour of duty and went back stateside. Arthur and I anxiously awaited his replacement, another TSgt named Robert Clough, coming to us from a Defense Contracting Agency job in Paramus, New Jersey, and prior to that, a year at Tan Son Nhut Air Base, Vietnam.
As we awaited TSgt Clough’s arrival, we continued to burn many overtime hours on tasks such as loading budget targets in the Base Accounting system on the B-3500 computer, and corresponding supply and equipment targets in the Base Supply system on the Univac 1050-II computer system.
Working with Base Supply was particularly difficult, since they operated in accordance with their own sacrosanct regulations and procedures which seemed to be in competition or opposition to the overall budget process. We were in a constant fear that Base Supply would not issue a critical maintenance part because of a shortage of funds in a unit account, thereby resulting in delayed repairs to an aircraft delaying mission accomplishment, and the blame placed on us.
The Supply system seemed to be run by its cranky computer. When there were problems, and there were endless problems, the usual explanation for not fixing them immediately was that “the computer won’t let us.”
We had very little information about TSgt Clough, but information in some of his records we received before his arrival showed he had experience working with Base Supply.
The fateful day finally arrived, and I made the short walk from Accounting across the highway to the parking lot in front of the Base Reception Center to meet the bus carrying Sergeant Clough and his family from the UK arrival base, RAF Mildenhall. The bus pulled in, and Sergeant Clough and his wife Lorna, plus two sons and a daughter, got off. As I gave Sergeant Clough a warm welcome I noticed he was overweight and his uniform more unkempt looking than expected even considering the long flight and bus ride.
He introduced me to his family, then announced that he was “on the Road program.”
“What’s the ‘Road’ program?” I asked.
“Retired On Active Duty,” he replied.